Cameron University to formally install Dr. John M. McArthur as president; ceremony open to the public

Cameron University will formally install Dr. John M. McArthur as the university’s 17th president on Wednesday, October 23 at 4 p.m. in Aggie Gym. Chancellor Glen Johnson of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and Richard R. Dunning, Chair, The University of Oklahoma, Cameron University and Rogers State University Board of Regents, will conduct McArthur’s investiture as president following salutations by Jessica Champagne, President, Cameron University Alumni Association; Lani Malcolm, Chair, CU Staff Advisory Council; Dr. Michael Dunn, Chair, CU Faculty Senate; and Kevin Stieb, President, Student Government Association. The ceremony is open to the public; a public reception will follow.

“It is with great joy that we celebrate President McArthur’s position in his new role with this installation ceremony,” says Dr. Ronna Vanderslice, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Since taking the reins as Cameron’s president, he has already demonstrated his commitment to maintaining Cameron’s stature as a university where excellence prevails.”

McArthur succeeded Cynthia S. Ross as Cameron University’s president on July 1, 2013. He is a member of the Council of Presidents for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) and is also serving a two-year term on the Board of Directors for the State Chamber of Commerce. President McArthur has been appointed as the regional university representative on the Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Advisory Committee, which is responsible for the promotion of cooperative research efforts among public and private universities in Oklahoma, private sector involvement in university research and technology transfer, and human resource development in science and engineering. He is also a member of the Oklahoma NASA EPSCoR Program Technical Advisory Committee.

President McArthur served as a physics faculty member at Southeastern Oklahoma State University from 1993-1999 followed by a two-year term as Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Technology. He was then a mathematics faculty member at Colorado State University-Pueblo from 2001-2004 before joining Cameron University as Dean of the School of Science and Technology. In 2006, he was promoted to Vice President for Academic Affairs with subsequent promotion to Provost in 2011. His daily responsibilities as VPAA and Provost at Cameron included focusing on student learning, scholarly activity and service as components of the university’s mission. He had a leadership role in major campus initiatives, including two strategic plans, campus physical improvements, the opening of the Academic Advising Center, and the implementation of a campus-wide Emergency Communication System. Cameron also received a successful 10-year reaccreditation from the Higher Learning Commission in 2010 under his leadership as VPAA. Individual programs for teacher education, chemistry, business and music also received accreditation in recent years.

Dr. McArthur was a National Merit Scholar and received a baccalaureate degree in mathematical sciences from Rice University. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

He met his wife, Dr. Karla Oty, while they were both graduate students at the University of Colorado, and the two married in 1990. Dr. Oty has served as a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. After serving as a mathematics faculty member at Colorado State University-Pueblo, she joined Cameron University as a faculty member in mathematics in 2004. Dr. Oty served as Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences and as Interim Dean of the School of Science and Technology. She has been Cameron University’s Director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Accountability since 2010. Dr. Oty received her baccalaureate degree in mathematics, summa cum laude, from Trinity University, and her doctorate in mathematics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. McArthur and Dr. Oty’s personal interests include travel, gardening, and music with support as patrons for the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra.